Voluntary Disclosure and Stakeholder Management in Italy and in the US

Much of the recent literature discuss convergence in accounting systems, corporate reporting practices, investor relations and communication strategic approaches; although national institutional frameworks have formed the backbones of management practices and cultural diversity has strongly influenced successful business practices. More specifically, an harmonization process is often proposed dealing with firms’ institutional communication patterns and international accounting practices. This paper investigates whether voluntary reporting – non mandatory information inserted in the annual report - is so nationally driven that the institutional & national dimensions prevail over the accounting effort to harmonize disclosure frameworks.